Latest fromPets & Animals

Brutal dog abuse appalls activists
An animal rights group is disgusted to hear of the fatal pummelling of a pomeranian dog and a deadly attack on a pitbull in two separate cases before the court.

Ease work stress - call in the dogs
Stressed at work? Not getting along with your colleagues? The answer is simple. Take your pooch into the office - and many Kiwis are doing just that.

Blog: Downsizing your dog
What is it about these little ankle biters that we love so much? I say 'we' as I have gone to the small side myself with two pomeranian X Japanese spitz balls of fluff.

Sea lions, scrub growth endanger island
Remnants of human habitation on New Zealand's remote Campbell Island are at risk of being wiped out.

Dog released after child left bleeding
"Mummy the yucky dog tried to eat me," are words etched in Hayley Taylor's mind.

Shelley Bridgeman: Why the royal family portrait upset me
People all across the globe erupted into fawning fits of hyperbole when the latest family photograph of the Cambridges (William, Kate, baby George and dog Lupo) at their Kensington Palace apartment was released.

Viral video for dogs: Adoption Drive
These cute puppies figured out a clever way to raise money for dogs in need. Now all you need to do is watch. For more information visit http://www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.co.nz Courtesy of YouTube/PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive

Horse hit by car on Christchurch expressway
A horse that had to be destroyed after being hit by a car in Christchurch belonged to a local man who frequently travelled around the city centre with two horses, police say.

Dead piranhas block UK sewer
Deadly piranhas were the unlikely cause of a badly backed-up English sewer, according to water company inspectors.

Scrub fire has a nasty sting in it
'I just bolted.' A swarm of wasps nesting under a fire hydrant gave firefighters more than they bargained for over the weekend.

The worst place to be stung
Throughout history, a select band of the brave has willingly turned into human guinea pigs in the cause of science.

Cheer-up pills in the doghouse
Man's best friend is increasingly taking antidepressants to get a new leash on life.

Giant, man-eating crocodile caught
A giant, one-tonne crocodile has been caught by Ugandan villagers, after allegedly eating a man and maiming several others in a village.

Koalas shooting selfies
Not quite a duck face, but Bruce the koala and his friend Jay have become quite the experienced selfie-snappers at Wildlife Sydney Zoo.

Sharks back in spotlight after deaths on opposite coasts
Sharks have forced themselves back into the minds of Australians.

Shark kills woman, body still missing
Surf lifesavers are scouring the water for remains after a woman in her 60s was killed by a shark near Tathra Wharf in New South Wales.

John Armstrong: Whale tale not all over yet
Much hangs on whether the Japanese Government sides with its future-focused Foreign Ministry or its inwards-looking pro-whaling fisheries agency, writes John Armstrong.

Bob Jones: We love meat, but please don't kill animals
We're all a kaleidoscope of contradictions about our treatment and consumption of living creatures, writes Bob Jones.

Place where culling comes naturally
Even the first sunshine of spring is not enough to prevent the lion enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo from looking forlorn.

Cat returns after five years
After being Awol for half a decade Randy the cat was recently reunited with his owners - thanks to a trusty microchip, a caring stranger, and the Auckland SPCA.

Paul Thomas: A world turned upside down
Many's the time the dubious claim "sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind" has been used to justify some act of petty tyranny, writes Paul Thomas.

James Griffin: Why wasps?
I want to believe in the inter-connectedness of things, I really do.

We should love great whites
For the past 15 years, a Kiwi marine explorer has been tracking great white sharks around the world, helping answer one of the biggest questions concerning great whites — their home range.